Environmental Committee Update By Kevin Clunis, Stillwater Country Club

As reported in an earlier edition of Hole Notes, the Environmental Commit-tee was formed to help our organization better understand the environmental considerations for golf courses.

Presently we are putting the final touches on a compliance guideline to governmental regulations for golf courses. The committee, made up of several golf course superintendents, university personnel and associate mem-bers, focused on five areas of concern. The areas we researched were Aboveground Storage Tanks, Under-ground Storage Tanks, Pesticide Laws, Pesticide Spills and Hazardous Wastes.

When you receive your copy of this guideline, please take time to look through it. Included in each of the chap-ters are phone numbers of the various state agencies along with MGCSA Su-perintendents. If you have questions, do call the people listed.

There is so much information in this guideline that it is difficult to summarize. But here are a few points to take note of:

• You must keep pesticide records for five years.

• A new Restricted Use Pesticide list is included.

• Storage of pesticides away from seed is discussed.

• You must store pesticides in their original container.

• When filling your spray tank, you must have a backflow preventer in line.

• The Department of Agriculture will be running inspections of golf courses this year.

• You must report spills of all pesti-cides on non-target areas, no matter the size.

• Eligibility for 90% reimbursement on reported spills is reviewed.

• On USTs installed before 1988, you must have corrosion protection and spill/overflow prevention installed by 1998.

• On all USTs installed before 1974, you must have leak detection now; on tanks installed between 1975-1979, you have until 1992 to install leak detection; on tanks installed between 1980-1988,

you have until 1993 to install leak de-tection.

• You must register all UST and Aboveground Storage Tanks (AST) with the State of Minnesota.

• Only requested tanks are eligible for the Petro Fund.

• Hazardous wastes will soon be col-lected by the state of Minnesota under a new program.

This guideline is for superintendents by superintendents. This is a professional document to help you and your club achieve compliance with environmental regulation. We will be revising chapters and adding new ones as time goes on.

Another matter of concern to golf courses is a proposed ban on mercury fungicides. The House of Representatives introduced a bill (House File 160) that would ban the use of mercury fungicides

on golf courses by January 1, 1992. Dr. Ward Stienstra and myself testified to the House Committee on Environmental and Natural Resources in behalf of the MGCSA in opposition to the ban. The tes-timony went well, but the committee passed the bill anyway. As of this writ-ing, the bill is in the Appropriations Com-mittee seeking funds. Our best chance is that this bill will die in committee. It also doesn't have support of our gover-nor, so he could veto it unless it gets stuck onto some conglomeration of a bill package.

I will keep you informed as more in-formation comes along. But in the mean-time, some alternative snow mold prevention measures should be consi-dered. Even if we survive this episode of a proposed ban on mercury, the fu-ture of the product is, at best, clouded.

STOLEN Three (3) Mower decks & Three (3) Verticutters for a Jacobsen Greens Mower were stolen from Sleepy Eye Golf Course over the weekend of March 23-24.

Any information or questions, please call Dave Rubey, Sleepy Eye Golf Course at (507) 794-7802.

For tur: under

[that thrives leavy traffic.

RHONE POULENC AG COMPANY RO. Box 12014, 2 T. W Alexander Drive

Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 919/549-2000

Troll Receives Green Section Award Dr. Joseph Troll, a renowned educa-

tor in the turfgrass industry, is the 1991 recipient of the Green Section Award of the United States Golf Association.

The award has been presented by the USGA annually since 1961 in recognition of distinguished service to golf through work with turfgrass. Dr. Troll received the award in February at the Golf Course Su-perintendents Association of America Conference and Show in Las Vegas, Nev.

During his tenure at the University of Massachusetts, an estimated 1,100 stu-dents were graduated from the program he directed, one of the largest number of graduates by any university in this country. A large majority became golf course superintendents.

Dr. Troll also helped establish the Turf Research Center in South Deerfield, Mass., which is active in all aspects of research and testing new grass varieties.

Although he retired from the Univer-sity of Massachusetts in 1988, he remains active in turfgrass studies. He is the general chairman of the Massachusetts Turf Conference, one of the largest as-semblies of golf course superintendents

and turfgrass personnel in the country, and he has assisted the Northeastern Region of the USGA Green Section in its Turf Advisory Service visits.

In 1983 he was the recipient of the Dis-tinguished Service Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.

As one nomination said: "The turf-grass management industry and the quality of our golf courses have made tremendous improvements within the last three decades. Unquestionably, most of this has occurred because of better educated golf course superinten-dents. . . Dr. Troll loves the game of golf and has worked hard to develop our in-dustry."

Groundsmaster 72 $3500

or best offer.

FOR SALE Six (6) Rain Trains. New in 1989. Used one season. $600 each. 1" hose length. 100 ft. each. $75 each.

CALL CARY Pebble Creek Golf Course

612/261-4656

^SEniES^

Contact: 612-440-5153

Scott

FOR SALE

Buckner irrigation heads 1360 cam driven

1092 Impacts Phone 612/665-3665

Rick Smith Le Seur C.C.

Now, Scott offers effective Foa control and high potassium feeding in one product Gain the programming flexibility you're looking for with ProTurfR High KTM Fertilizer with TGR* Poa Annua Control* Not only does it weaken the competitive Poa, but it also allows you to choose to add a high potassium feeding to your fertilization schedule to help your turf.

Ask your ProTurf Tech Rep for details.

15-0-29 High K Fertilizer with TGR Poa Annua Control

WELL DRILLING FOR FOUR GENERATIONS

[.H.Henner&Sons INCORPORATED

SPECIALIZING IN:

Irrigation Supply Wells Variable Frequency Drives Line-Shaft Turbine Pumps Submersible Pumps

( 6 1 2 ) 4 2 7 - 6 1 0 0 24 HOUR TELEPHONE ANSWERING FAX 427-0533

Roger Renner, President Jerry Aljets, Sales Engineer

CERTIFIED MASTER WATER WELL CONTRACTOR

Equal opportunity employer j|

15688 Jarvis St. NW • Elk River, MN 55330

1991 MGCSA Monthly Meeting Sites

Date Location Sponsor April 22 Owatonna CC (lunch) North Star Turf May 13 River Falls (lunch) Cushman Motor Co.

Turf Supply (speaker) June 3 Pebble Creek (lunch) MTI - Neary Mfg. July 8 Izaty's (lunch) Lesco - Deep Tine Aerifying,

Keith Faber, Five Star Deep Aerifying Co.

Aug. 19 New Richmond, Wis. MGCSA Championship (dinner)

Polfus Implement

Sept. 16 Golden Valley/Oak Ridge Research Tournament (Dinner at Oak Ridge)

Oct. 7 Hastings (lunch) R&W Golf Cars November

(first wk.) Weather permitting, golf at Mankato

November 20-21-22

Annual Conference Northland Inn

ATTENTION SUPERINTENDENTS Any superintendent who wish-

es to host a 1992 meeting and any associate who wishes to be a spon-sor should contact BOOTS FULLER at Mankato GC. The only date spoken for thus far is the April 1992 meeting at St. Peter. Availa-ble dates are May through October, 1992.

WANTED Wanted to buy a used Toro Green-master triplex. Must be in very good or excellent condition.

Contact Monte Swift

at 507-764-3796 or

Jim Scholl at 507-764-9201

TOPDRESSING

Relax!

Let us take the worry out of topdressing . . .

• We use only the highest quality raw materials. Our peat source is high in organic matter and our sand is processed through a 1 mm screen to assure a more desirable particle size.

• Each component is screened and processed separately. Every order is mixed at the time of pick up or delivery and rescreened to assure uniformity.

• We will formulate any mix according to customor specifications.

RANDALL TRANSIT MIX

Northwood, Iowa CO

Northwood, Iowa P.O. Box 2

Highway 105 West

515-324-1063 (collect)

THE EXTENSION LINE

Plant and Site Considerations for Choosing Trees, Shrubs By Bob Mugaas, Minnesota Extension Service

PART II Site Considerations*

The conditions of the planting site are as important as choosing the proper plant. Soil type and drainage, available water and sunlight, exposure to drying winds and other factors must be consi-dered. Attempting to match the require-ments of the plant to the site increases the survivability, performance, and lon-gevity of the plant selected.

The first step in assessing the con-dition of the planting site is to examine the soil. Is it sandy and well drained? Is it moist with some organic material? Is it heavy clay and, therefore, wet and perhaps compacted? Construction prac-tices such as cutting and filling, instal-lation of underground utilities, and backfilling against foundations can cre-ate great diversity in soil structure. This variability can change drastically with depth and between planting locations on the same property.

Because plant roots require both moisture and oxygen for growth, soil drainage should be checked before plant-ing. A poorly drained soil, high in moisture, but low in oxygen, prevents both proper root development and growth of beneficial soil micro-organisms that are responsible for decomposing or-ganic matter and releasing plant nutrients.

To test for soil drainage, dig a hole 18 inches deep, fill it with water and jet it stand overnight. If the water has not drained by morning, there is a drainage problem. (Do not test the drainage in this manner after heavy rainfall or before the ground has thawed in the spring.)

Soil pH is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a soill. A pH below 7 (neu-tral) would indicate an acid soil, and a pH above 7 indicates an alkaline soil. Many plants have an optimal range of pH; some are acid loving, and some may do best when the pH is near 7. Most trees thrive on a pH between 6.0 and 7.0. Soil

pH is raised by calcium carbonate or lime. Plant species that will tolerate a high pH should be considered for areas with buried concrete, near foundations, or sidewalks, etc. Plant species consi-dered tolerant of high pH include: green ash, white ash, amur corktree, ginkgo, hackberry, honeylocust, and Russian olive. Evergreens perform best in slightly acidic conditions. There are some excep-tions: arborvitae, ponderosa pine, Coloraro blue spruce, Black Hills spruce, muhgo pine, and junipers can tolerate a wider pH range.

Water

The correct amount of water for plants is essential. Select plants that are toler-ant of excess water for low areas where water may be standing or very close to the surface, or where a heavy clay soil exists. Standing water or a high table means low oxygen content in the soil. Therefore, trees and shrubs that can tolerate excessive moisture are often bet-ter suited to these poor sites. Trees that are able to tolerate moisture are: green ash, river birch, hackberry, swamp white oak, red maple, and Russian Olive. Drough tolerant trees can withstand ex-tended periods with little water and are best suited for sandy soils. They include: green ash, amur corktree, ginkgo, hack-berry, Kentucky coffeetree, and Russian olive. Drough tolerant shrubs include amur maple, barberry, caragana, honey-suckle, buffaloberry, spirea, and lilac.

Sunlight Although some plants can tolerate low

light conditions, most require full sun to maintain their vigor and attain their op-timum performance. Deciduous trees considered to be more shade tolerant in-clude: green ash, white ash, river birch, ironwood, Kentucky coffeetree, Ameri-can linden, Norway maple, hackberry, red maple, and sugar maple. Evergreen plant materials tolerant of shade include Canada Hemlock and yews. Evergreens

tolerating a filtered shade situation in-clude arborvitae, Balsam fir and Douglas fir.

Location

The location of the planting site in re-lation to other trees and objects such as buildings, fences, etc. will have a con-siderable influence on temperature and moisture conditions. Prevailing wester-ly winds will have a drying effect on non-protected sites. The south side of a build-ing will be much warmer and drier than the north side. The warming effect of the sun on a cold winter day can cause in-jury to bark and may cause the tree trunk to split. For evergreens, this warm-ing can cause water loss and growth ac-tivity resulting in needle damage when the temperature is again lowered. Plant hardiness can be greatly affected by the amount of protection provided by in-dividual microclimates.

*Adapted from Minnesota Extension Service publi-cation (AG-FO-3825) "Planting and Transplanting Trees and Shrubs" by Bert T. Swanson, James B. Calkins, Peter-Jon Rudquist and Steven Shimek.

FOR SALE 1. Used Motorola Radio System

1 - base station 2 - mobiles 5 - handheld walkies

2. Deedoe fairway aerator 3. Miscellaneous pump station ac-

cessories: Clayton valve, pres-sure relief valves, eccentric fittings, electrical boxes.

4. Cushman mount topdresser Hazeltine National

Golf Club Please call 448-3626 for more in-formation.